The feedback loop

Q: What are the advantages of 360 degree feedback?

A: 360 degree feedback works best if you ask people whose opinions you value and trust to evaluate your emotional intelligence anonymously – that is, they use a measure they can fill out and give to a neutral third party, who will aggregate the date so you only see averages, rather than the ratings from any one person. This information is immensely valuable for developing further strengths in EI, because is gives you a view of yourself you can never get on your own. You see yourself as others see you.

Then you can use this feedback to find which aspect of EI you will focus on in your development plan. I strongly recommend 360 feedback for development of EI, ideally with a coach or in a group that’s led by someone expert in the process. If you want to improve on EI leadership competencies, I suggest using the Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI-360) that I co-designed with Richard Boyatzis, my colleague at the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western, along with Haygroup.